Rod & Angelika Ragsdale: activities and projects in West Africa as well as those in Europe and in North America, sometimes. Including periodic news and information on their whereabouts, whatabouts, and just about anything else one might want to know about them if one was so inclined... and some things you might rather not know!

09 June 2005

9 June 2005
Monday morning I dropped off Angelika at the Airport in Abidjan. During her short stay we traveled from Abidjan to Bouaké, Bouaké to Korhogo and Ferkessédougou, back to Bouaké and then back to Abidjan. All of that to meet with different and various persons whom we needed to see concerning our future in Côte d'Ivoire and our return to this country in September.

As many of you have read in earlier postings on this blog, we had been asked to return to the field to discuss our involvement in the oversight of the former site of the International Christian Academy which had been evacuated in September of 2002 and then again, after opening for the 2004-2005 school year during the month of November. Because of the second evacuation and the reduction of students it was deemed necessary to close the school indefinitely due to lack of students and more so due to the lack of security in the region. This of course has lead to our being asked to oversee the Bouaké campus for our organization.

After talking with our colleagues in Ferkessédougou last week we decided that we would take on the job for the next year. This means that our time in the US will be cut short and that I will be making a second trip to Côte d'Ivoire the end of July to be here at the time of the transfer of the school from ICA to MBCI (World Venture in Côte d'Ivoire). It is very likely that we will return to Côte d'Ivoire by mid-September of this year. If you are the praying kind, do pray for us in this regard.

Now, about the fun stuff. I need to come clean and let you know that our first day back in Côte d'Ivoire was spent at Assini, a long sandy island/peninsula east of Abidjan where we like to go to swim in the surf. Good fish is usually available but it would seem that the other day both Dave (Dan’s son) and I got too much bad fish and we got the runs. Not a bad case but enough to make us both feel a bit off. He is in the US now and I hear he is better and I am doing great. Before Angelika flew out the Grudda family, Welch family (SIM) and we all went back to Assini to spend the night in a camp/hotel. Nice accommodations and great beach. We arrived a little before noon and stayed until just after noon the next day. We had a great time looking for West African sand dollars, digging for sand crabs, boogie boarding and body surfing, and generally getting burned to a crisp. Needless to say, we had a great time and we will remember it as one of the great times spent with the Dan Grudda family. It is hard to see them go but I have a feeling our paths will cross soon enough.

Well, I am going to try to post this thing today. Yesterday the internet connection was too slow and I was frustrated at every turn. Hoping that today it will work better.